No More Heroes 2: Desperate StruggleReview

The original No More Heroes on Nintendo Wii set a precedent during its 2008 release. Here was a game that pulled no punches, broke the fourth wall, and catered to the sliver of hardcore players that looked for bloodshed, sex, and violence on Nintendo's otherwise squeaky clean console. Franchise creator and longtime game designer Suda 51 invented a world that felt halfway pulled from his previous works – most obvious Killer 7 on GameCube – and mashed-up with Japanese cinema, punk style, and classic spaghetti westerns. It lacked polish, and the game had its not-so-impressive moments, but it found a fanbase and became a classic.

Well it should come as no surprise that No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle follows in the blood-soaked footsteps of its predecessor. Travis Touchdown makes his triumphant return to the world of ranked assassin battles. After winning the #1 spot two years ago, he walked away from it all. During his absence, the world of Santa Destroy – and those that call it home – have gone through one hell of a metamorphosis. Oh, you'll tear through the ranks in Desperate Struggle, but as he title name indicates there's more at stake here than a #1 spot. Santa Destroy has changed, and Travis is out for blood.

Rule #312: Giant Robots Always Rock.

For the most part, Desperate Struggle doesn't stray away from the No More Heores formula. Combat can still be a bit too frantic, lacking a way to roll or guard-break out of any situation, so you're going to trade hits with enemies. It's just a fact. You don't have camera control, the core mechanics are virtually unchanged, and those looking forward to the playable characters of Shinobu and Henry will have to come in with an open mind, as they're more of a parlor trick than a fully-realized extension of the game. This isn't meant to push you away – you're going to want to play it – but it's important to note that far as the core gameplay goes, No More Heroes is as it always was.

As for every other aspect of the game though, Desperate Struggle turns the No More Heroes design on its head. Gone is the clumsy overworld of Santa Destroy, and while the optimist in me remembers the moments of fun I had blasting through the city on my supercharged bike and burning donuts in intersections, the move away from that design does wonders. Everything is streamlined, allowing you to head out from your apartment in the No More Heroes Hotel and instantly find what you're looking for. You still have load times from area to area, but with one easy-to-use vertical menu, you spend less time in transit and far more time ripping people to pieces or expanding your character.

Check out new bosses, mini-games, and plenty of fan service in our full video review.

Another small detail that's worth mentioning is that the entire city is still as it was originally imagined. The coconut mini-game is still on the beach, for example. Instead of having to drive everywhere or stress out every time you screw up a battle-based revenge side mission, you can just use the menu to travel. Those that hated the cash system from the first game are going to love the changes made with Desperate Struggle. Ranked missions are free to enter, you can skip every cut scene if you want (though you'd be crazy to miss the game's antics), and there's never anything holding you back from progressing through the story if that's all you want to do.

But trust me, that's not all you'll want to do.

BJ5 Girl Says: You are now on every FBI watch list ever!

No More Heroes 2 oozes with personality. In fact, you'd be hard-pressed to find a game with more style and downright originality than Desperate Struggle. It took me two hours to simply get to the second ranked battle in my final playthrough, as so much of my time was spent checking out everything else the game has to offer. In your apartment alone there's plenty to do, including workout mini-games with your overweight cat Jeane, a free-to-play arcade game on your TV showcasing a fictitious anime called BJ5 (I'll leave any inferences to you.), complete with a fully-animated faux intro to the series as a reward for beating levels, and more. You can read up on wrestling moves, a dozen of which I was able to find on my first playthrough, and at any time you can run on over to your dresser, switch out your gear, and then hit the road. As you play, you also unlock new decorations for your apartment.